The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel.”
“When leaders throughout an organization take an active, genuine interest in the people they manage, when they invest real time to understand employees at a fundamental level, they create a climate for greater morale, loyalty, and yes, growth.”
The first quote above is from Sybil F. Stershic, president of quality service marketing at LinkedIn. The second is from author and business management guru Patrick Lencioni. Together, they nicely sum up the gist and general how-to of employee engagement.
Engage People – And They’ll Stick Around.
Stershic is spot on: Retention of good talent costs way less than turnover, just as holding on to loyal existing customers is much less expensive than acquiring new ones. Your employees are, in fact, your most important customers because it’s so true: keep them happy, and it will naturally spread to your external clientele.
- There’s a direct tie-in: According to a recent Gallup study, only 27 percent of fully-engaged employees would consider leaving their current jobs if offered a raise of 20 percent or less to do so, versus 54 percent of disengaged workers who would happily jump ship if offered a comparable incentive.
Encourage Mentoring and Coaching
Employee engagement can’t be just a flavor of the month. It has to be embedded into your company culture and day-to-day MO. A solid step in the right direction is ongoing mentoring and coaching on the part of senior leadership and management.
- Hold supervisors accountable – and empower them to support this company-wide commitment. Be sure they have the time, support and resources they need to hold regular coaching and mentoring conversations and help their direct reports and team members to grow and develop.
These words are from John Wooden, who won 10 NCAA national championships within a 12-year period as coach of the UCLA Bruins’ basketball team:
“A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”
Quell People’s Frustrations About Work
In another study, 83 percent of employees said that if their workplace frustrations were relieved, they’d be significantly happier in their roles. And 60 percent said they were currently so frustrated that they wanted to look for new jobs. Talk about disengagement!
- Examples of work-related frustrations included time wasted on reports that no one apparently read, meetings that could have been emails or not happened at all, supervisors not prioritizing assignments, lack of feedback, and micromanagement.
- Do your managers regularly sit down with their employees and uncover their frustrations, then take the right action steps to alleviate them?
Track Your Progress
Be sure to measure employee engagement at your company and continue to monitor your progress. Develop a workable process using surveys, focus groups and other tools. Measure not just once, but annually or more frequently, so you can make adjustments in a timely manner.
As you grow your industry-leading workforce, PrideStaff Modesto can help, offering unparalleled expertise in hiring, retention, engagement, and employee and leadership development. Reach out to us today to learn more.
